Questioning judges' integrity is dangerous, Mahmood tells peers

Criticising a judge’s decision is fair game but questioning their integrity risks their safety, undermines public confidence in the justice system and erodes the rule of law, the lord chancellor has warned, following recent political and media attacks on the judiciary.

Appearing before the House of Lords constitution committee yesterday, Shabana Mahmood said it was one thing to criticise a decision ‘but it is another thing entirely to bring a judge’s integrity into question’.

In recent days, the CV of one of the three Court of Appeal judges who ruled in favour of the government in the use of The Bell Hotel in Epping as asylum accommodation has been the subject of media headlines. Shadow justice secretary Robert Jenrick posted a lengthy thread on X about an immigration judge whose CV made headlines following a ruling.

Mahmood told the committee that judges, upon taking office, swear to apply the law without fear or favour. ‘When they enter a courtroom, they leave their personal views at the door. To suggest otherwise as some have in recent days is to undermine the public confidence on which the justice system depends and erode the rule of law in this country’.

Mahmood was ‘appalled by some of the language used in relation to our judges, particularly in recent days, and disclosure of personal information that places them at risk, including, unfortunately, by those who seek high office and who should, frankly, know better’.

The justice secretary said it was incumbent on everyone to uphold the principle of judicial independence, and to defend the integrity and ensure the safety of judges.

In the wide-ranging evidence session, Mahmood was questioned on her speech at the Council of Europe, in which she said the UK was open to a conversation on potential reform of the European Convention on Human Rights. 

Mahmood said she 'wanted to make clear it is the position of our government that you can be a big supporter of the convention, absolutely stand behind the independence of the European Court of Human Rights, and then also have a sensible conversation about whether an instrument that was written 75 years ago can still fit the needs of the modern era'.

Asked about civil justice, Mahmood said 'good work' was being done to crack down on the court backlog, including system digitisation being led by the master of the rolls, a new digital possessions service and replacing the High Court CE-File system.